At first. I use Linux Mint installed on my PC. So i don't want to install every distro i try.

From time to time i write a Live Iso to my stick and try it out
and now i wonder is there a possibility to use a LiveDVD with more memory or
to upgrade that Linux doesn't run out of memory ?

I know it depends on the physical memory. My Laptop has 2 gig which runs out very fast of cos - pc 8 gig.

I tried to use a swap partition and free some memory from time to time
but it isn't possible to upgrade cos the distro still runs out of memory.

This is a general question so independent from the distro.

I could use a VM and install it but i want to try it out real with a live dvd.

Thank you.

Am I correct in interpreting your post as you boot a liveCD, then try an upgrade (of the booted liveCD) ?.

That will (generally) download a truckload of packages, which then need to be installed. All of which will take up filesystem space - where depends on the distro. With a liveCD, all (write-able) filesystems are mounted in RAM, but are not (usually) subject to swapping. You could change the mount-points of directories that will grow to live on real disk, but that would get ugly - quickly.

A swap file or partition ought to work by default. It may be that you would have to enable it with a command on the live cd/dvd.


8G is plenty I'd think for most temporary things. I'd be wondering if you are using 32 bit distro or your system doesn't allow the full 8G ram to be used.

Virtual machines are great ways to play with a distro but you can't tell if the real machine will be fully supported.

I'd install to the usb instead of a live usb like unetbootin or universal usb installer. That may be what syg00 suspects is going on. You can't really do much updating to a live cd/dvd/usb. Only a normal install to a usb can be updated properly.

There may well be an other way, and that's the one I employ here all the time: get a second-hander/hand-me-down and do an INSTALL on that one. Dont shoot me if I dont get the nubb here (it's four in the morning here...) but as the guru's mentioned, you seem to pop the DVD into the drive, do an update/upgrade on that DVD and then - bamm - run out of (what seems to you) diskspace...
A Live medium (DVD/CD/USB stick/...) has the memory as playground, in that memory a filesystem gets imitated, as if on a physical disk. Try it, do a wget of something and observe that it landed in a folder, and that folder...exists in memory, nowhere else.
You could (as syg00 suggested) redirect the mountpoints, but it would get (as syg00 mentioned) get messy, as you'd end up with an "OS" that has a read only portion (the DVD) that it tries to upgrade. Besides that, this would inevitably flood your harddrive with bits-n-bobs that dont belong in your main OS...how messy (and ugly) is that...
The option jefro popped up (using a USB stick) seems then more to your needs...but, these things are not really fomula one racers...

Eh, just my thoughts...

Thor